I have a wonderful friend who has been talking about "getting started" with content creation for nearly as long as I've known them.

Every time I check in, gently nudge or offer to help them get started, I'm usually met with resistance that comes from this statement:

It breaks my heart because, in all the time they've postponed getting started, they could've "found" their niche by now.

And it's stumped me.

I've been trying to find a way to help them overcome this mental roadblock.

And it wasn't until I recently came across this video from Ali Abdaal, a productivity YouTuber with ~5m subscribers, that I found a breakthrough.

Step #2 changed how I think about "finding your niche" forever.

In this step, he made the analogy of adopting the mindset of either an architect or archaeologist.

📐 The Architect

They've got the blueprint; they know what's going to happen.

And only once they have all the information out there, and it's all written down, do they then hire someone to lay the first brick.

- Ali Abdaal

The problem here is that you won't take action because you're so focused on engineering everything.

In reality, it's something you just can't figure out in advance.

Or even if you do take action, you'll quickly encounter real-world problems. Problems that you couldn't predict during your planning phase and that make your plans redundant.

If you're just getting started — stop overwhelming yourself.

You're putting an immense amount of pressure on yourself to do 2 things simultaneously:

(1) Finding your niche; and

(2) Learning how to create content

Instead, consider adopting the next mindset:

⛏️ The Archaeologist

With this mindset, you're willing just to get dirty and start digging using the tools (i.e. topics) you already have.

And eventually, by exploring enough hot zones (just like an archaeologist would) eventually...something good will happen.

That's the equivalent of the archaeologist finding something ("oh hello"), and now that you've found something interesting, you continue to excavate and dig in that area.

- Ali Abdaal

Sure, you might dig a lot of empty holes (i.e. content that flops), but in the process, you'll do 2 things:

  1. You'll learn what you enjoy (and don't enjoy) creating; and

  2. You'll get better at creating every time

Then as Ali mentioned, by consistently digging (i.e. creating) over time, you'll inevitably strike something that "works" with signals like:

Finding Your Sweet Spot

If I were starting from scratch, I'd go all in on being the archaeologist.

Remember: the beginning is the most fun.

You have nothing to lose (and barely any followers!)

Spend the next 3-6 months (minimum) creating content that provides value on every topic you're interested in, passionate or currently learning about.

Test and experiment with formats, style of delivery and medium.

Emulate what others are doing but in your own unique way.

Just dig (create) a lot of holes (content).

By the end of this period, you'll have a powerful sense of:

Then, ask yourself 3 questions.

  1. What content (topics & formats) performed the best?

  2. What content did I enjoy making the most?

  3. What content didn't I enjoy (or hate) making?

Bundle up everything from Questions 1 & 2.

That's your sweet spot.

Triple down on those going forward.

What about your responses to Question 3?

Scrap those entirely.

Even if they performed well, you'll never sustain consistency if you don't enjoy making it.

Don't believe me?

Read on to see how a fellow Storyteller gave themselves permission to (finally) scrap a niche they weren't enjoying (even though it was performing well) to go on and find their sweet spot.

When Cindy Moon, a mental health advocate & social media specialist, first started creating content, she was burning out 🥵

She had grown her TikTok account to ~2k followers by posting "Day In The Life" vlogs about being a corporate worker in Sydney.

The Problem?

She'd completely lost passion for this niche.

Even though it had been performing well, it wasn't aligned with who she was becoming (i.e. she wanted to quit corporate!).

After a lot of hesitation, alongside the support and tough love from her community, she gave herself permission to scrap the niche altogether.

She started posting about a full range of topics she was passionate about, including:

By being an "archaeologist" and continuing to dig (create), she eventually struck gold (found her content sweet spot).

By expressing her full range of interests with her audience, she attracted an even broader and more engaged following that's stayed loyal to her despite changing her niche.

So, what's it going to be?

Your niche is out there.

But are you going to wait and try to perfectly predict it?

Or are you willing to take action, get a little dirty and let it find you?

Mamba